Mari K. Eder - The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line: Untold Stories of the Women Who Changed the Course of World War II

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Books . Change . Lives .

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Books . Change . Lives .

Copyright 2021 by Mari K. Eder

Cover and internal design 2021 by Sourcebooks

Cover design by Lauren Harms

Cover images U.S. Air Force, Woman Airforce Service Pilots (WASPS) after training with B-17 Flying Fortress, 1944.

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Published by Sourcebooks

P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Eder, Mari K., author.

Title: The girls who stepped out of line : untold stories of the women who changed the course of World War II / Major General Mari K. Eder, U.S. Army, Retired.

Description: Naperville : Sourcebooks, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021001192 (print) | LCCN 2021001193 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: World War, 1939-1945--Women--Biography. | United States--Armed Forces--Women--Biography. | United States. Office of Strategic Services--Officials and employees--Biography. | World War, 1939-1945--Refugees--Biography. | World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Female. | Heroes--Biography.

Classification: LCC D810.W7 E34 2021 (print) | LCC D810.W7 (ebook) | DDC 940.53092/52--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021001192

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021001193

My grandmother turned toward a guardshe was in line to be shot into a pitand said, What happens if I step out of line? And he said, I dont have the heart to shoot you, but somebody will. And she stepped out of line. And for that, I am here. And for that, my children are here. So step out of line, ladies. Step out of line!

ALEX BORSTEIN
2019 EMMY AWARDS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH

For my great grandmother
Harriett E. Patterson Greer

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

In 1943, Mass Transportation magazine published an article entitled Eleven Tips on Getting More Efficiency Out of Women Employees. It provided insights into the psyche of the working woman of the day and offered advice to male managers on how to deal with the wartime influx of women into the workplace. As one such tip stated: Women make excellent workers when they have their work cut out for them, but they lack initiative in finding work themselves.

Hiring women during World War II was a difficult and unwelcome chore for many male managers. However, they had little choice. With one third of working age men in uniform, accepting a substitute appeared to be an unfortunate necessity. But the stores still had to stay open; the factories had to run. While the men were away at war, women needed to save the home front and the economy at the same time. An act of bravery for many. Prepared or not, they took up the challenge. How would women adjust to being in the workforce, many for the first time in their lives?

Their male supervisors worried about the same thing. How would they adjust? Could they handle the stress of nine to five? The Mass Transportation article offered tips to remember when selecting new hires. Pick young married women. They usually have more of a sense of responsibility than their unmarried sisters. Then there was the gentle reminder, Husky girls are more even tempered and efficient. These baldly condescending guidelines were typical of the times. According to L. H. Sanders, author of the Mass Transportation piece, women were essentially invisible in society. They appeared destined to shuffle along in their predetermined roles and along the narrow cultural paths set out for them. At best, they might aspire to a secretarial job, or a teaching careerat least until they married and had children.

While this was a common view of women at the time, it was also an incomplete picture. There were other women, those who chose to ignore convention, disregard established roles, and step out of line. They served, fought, struggled, and made things happen, in and out of uniform. They embraced any opportunity to serve, to test their limits, make a difference, and experience a world more worthy of their skills and abilities. They werent concerned with lipstick or their hairthey were concerned with doing their job and doing it well.

Most werent even trailblazers by choice. Some were merely trying to survive from one day to the next. Others just wanted to make a contribution to the war effort. They didnt target the glass or even the brass ceiling. These brave ladies, mostly unknown today, did not benefit from the strength of feminist movements, womens marches, and technological advances that connect and empower so many women across the globe in the twenty-first century. Many carried on in isolation, imprisoned in a concentration camp, operating alone in a foreign country under an assumed name, or in a unique, individual role that offered no safety net whatsoever. For them, failure wasnt even an option. Success was a matter of survival. Others were constricted by the blunt force of their security clearances and the need for silence or hemmed in by the pressure of being both brilliant and an anomaly.

This book isnt about what these women were forbidden to do. Or how they were discriminated against. This is the story of who these women were and what they did do. Their achievements have shaped our opportunities today, gifted us with role models and mentors who speak to us even now, seventy-five years down the line.

The actions of these amazing women put comic book heroines to shame. But their lives arent just stand-alone testimonials to courage, determination, and drive. While their achievements are considerable, their legacy is even greater. As we look at their stories, we can see ourselves in those who dream of flying one day, earning a degree in chemistry or education, nursing the ill or injured, and serving as witness to history, speaking up for others who may not be able to speak for themselves.